Most Important
by jia.kameda
Summary: Hinata and Tsukishima are in a relationship since about two years, they live together and are very much in love - until Kuroo suddenly opens a bar close to their home and starts flirting with Tsukishima! Will Hinata and Tsukishima work through the threat a flirting Kuroo pauses? Rated M and tagged Angst for later chapters Monthly update schedule CURRENTLY ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

Two things:

1\. no claims to ownership of Haikyuu!

2\. enjoy

Jia ne

PS: updated this with the betaed version. Please accept my deepest apologies for having made you read the unbetaed thing first.

* * *

Coming home to Tsukishima waiting for him still felt somehow surreal, even though they had lived together for more than half a year now. Hinata wished that he would never get used to having his boyfriend by his side, because that meant that he would rejoiced every time he saw him and he was incredibly happy when he heard him say 'welcome home'. Even just thinking about it made Hinata smile and suddenly his less than great day wasn't that bad anymore.

He was standing in the overcrowded bus, squeezed in between two very tall guys, though not as tall as his boyfriend, and one of them had horrible cologne, it smelled so bad Hinata was wondering when he would throw up. In addition to the bad taste in cologne, the guy, an office worker, had no taste in haircut either; it looked hideous...

Hinata sighed, being a beautician was hard at times... Most people would probably be surprised that he ended up in beauty school instead of a normal college, but Hinata had found that he had a passion for cutting hair and the like when his mother had asked him to cut her hair for her once and he had since then been in charge of cutting his family's hair. He had even cut his own one time, but with such little success that he had given up on that.

The bus stopped and the man with the horrible taste got off, much to Hinata's relief. Now he could see an old lady with impeccable taste in clothing and hairstyle, which made his mood go up almost as much as thinking of Tsukki did.

Tsukki had entered Touhoku University and studied management. He claimed that it was boring and that he hated it, but he had continued studying it for two years now and got good grades, so it could not be that bad. He was also still playing volleyball, though in a circle and not in a club anymore. Practice wasn't as frequent and serious as it used to be in high school, but Tsukki needed something to take his mind off of studying.

Hinata had had to quit playing after he had been involved in a motorcycle accident which had damaged his leg. He still wanted to continue, but his doctor opposed it vehemently. Thinking about that made Hinata sad, he had loved the sport more than anything and a stupid accident had forced him to give up on playing. Life really wasn't fair. But at least he had Tsukki who had been like a pillar of strength to him. He had helped him to get over the accident, had accompanied him to the rehab and filled the void left by volleyball.

Having Tsukki was the best thing that had ever happened to Hinata.

The bus stopped again and Hinata got off. He walked about ten minutes before reaching the building in which he and Tsukishima had rented an apartment, which had three rooms. One was their bedroom, one a study room with two desks and one their living and dining room. Their kitchen was a bit small, there was hardly space for a breakfast table but they squeezed one in anyway. Their bathroom on the other hand was spacious enough so that both of them could use it at the same time if they wanted to.

"I'm home!" Hinata took his shoes off in the entrance and placed them on the shelf on the left hand side before stepping up on the wooden room floor in his slippers. "Tsukki?" he shouted while putting on the slippers. But there was no reply. He took his backpack, which he had taken off when entering the apartment and walked to the living room only to find it empty, so he knocked on the study but got no reply again. As he opened the door there was no Tsukki to be seen and Hinata frowned. He put the backpack on the chair that belonged to his desk and walked through the room to access the bedroom. There he was, laying flat on his stomach on the bed.

Hinata walked over to his boyfriend with a concerned look on his face. "Tsukki?" He gently touched his muscular shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Un..." Tsukishima didn't sound good.

"Are you feeling ill?" Hinata was almost looking forward to seeing an ill Tsukishima, as the blond was very good at hiding his illnesses. In the two year long relationship, Hinata had only noticed Tsukishima having a cold once and even then the blond had been able to convince him that he was perfectly fine.

Tsukishima growled something unintelligible.

"What did you say? You want food?"

Tsukishima finally turned his head so that he faced Hinata. "I have a headache..." He sounded spiritless.

"So, you want water?"

Tsukishima reached up and touched Hinata's face but didn't say anything.

"Okay, I got this. You rest and I'll make dinner and then we can tuck you in for the night. No studying tonight, understood?" He tried to look stern but failed when he saw Tsukishima's miserable face. He kissed him on the forehead before leaving the room to get some water for his boyfriend.

He cooked a light dinner with a lot of vegetables and soup, which he brought to the bedroom on a tray. But he could not feed Tsukishima, as he was dead to the world. He had fallen asleep once again and Hinata did not have it in him to wake him. So he put the tray down on the nightstand hoping it would not get knocked over somehow. As he looked around the room he noticed the empty bucket that had been placed next to the bed.

He pitied his boyfriend, but knowing now what the problem might be, he walked to the living room to access the first aid kit and get some stomach medicine that was supposed to help against puking. After placing the medicine and a new glass of water next to the food, he left the bedroom again to eat his own share of the dinner. After that he sat down in the study and did his homework.

When he went to bed that night, Tsukishima was again asleep, he had woken up sometime and had eaten something which he then had emptied into the bucket and Hinata had taken the left over food away, replacing it with some crackers that were easier on the stomach before he took the bucket away to wash it. He did not want to sleep next to a smelly bucket.

The next morning, Tsukishima looked better and almost insisted on going to school, but let Hinata convince him to stay home as Hinata did not have classes that day and his part time job had also given him a holiday, so staying home wasn't that bad.

"Did you have something bad to eat yesterday?" Hinata inquired as they ate breakfast, which for Tsukishima consisted of a small cup of peach flavoured yoghurt.

The blond shrugged. "Not that I could point it out... But we were at that slightly sketchy yakiniku place for lunch so..."

"When did you get back?"

"At around three, maybe? I went back to the University after lunch as I was supposed to have fourth period but my stomach started to act up between half past one and two, so I told one of the guys to tell the professor that I was ill and went home..." Tsukishima's face was still paler than usual and his voice kind of hoarse from throwing up.

Hinata patted Tsukishima's hand, made him take the medicine and told him to get back to sleep without bothering about doing the dishes. He himself did all the dishes and vacuumed the living room and did some other chores like he always did on the days he was off. Then he went into the study and did the homework that he had not finished the day before.

When lunchtime rolled around he checked on Tsukishima and made lunch. By the evening Tsukishima had regained most of his energy and had shooed Hinata out of the kitchen so that he could make dinner and then he even prepared the bath.

"Thanks" The blond murmured that night before falling asleep.

"It's okay." Hinata kissed him and snuggled close to him.

* * *

The way Hinata had confessed to him had been adorable to say the least. Tsukishima had somehow guessed what would come out of the not so tall boy's mouth the moment he had asked him for a moment of private conversation. Now, about two years later, Tsukishima still felt that Hinata acted rather adorably. It was the small things that made him think that Hinata was a sweet person and that let Tsukishima know the orange haired man cared for him. For example, Hinata would make coffee for him in the morning when he was making tea for himself without even asking if he wanted coffee because he knew that Tsukishima needed some in the morning. Also, ever so often he would come home with cake or some other thing that Tsukishima liked to eat but would never dare to buy because their living budget was tight. However, as Hinata's part time job entailed him working in a very customer oriented place, he knew people and places where he could get such things for cheap.

Sometimes, when Tsukishima was awake at night in the double bed next to Hinata, looking at his lover's face in the darkness, he felt like his soul was healed by the serene expression. Tsukishima knew that he was not a good person, no matter how many times Hinata told him that "deep down" he was a "sweet and nice" person because he had rescued Hinata from falling into depression due to the motorcycle accident. Tsukishima knew that it was actually Hinata who had rescued him from becoming even more cynical and sharp tongued, from closing off his heart to other people and being alone. He did not know how he could ever repay Hinata's kindness.

When they had met in high school Tsukishima had thought that Hinata was loud and a nuisance and that he would dread having to spend so much time with the bouncy orange haired boy through out the three years they were in the same school. Hinata had irritated him the very second he had laid eyes on him, obnoxious as he had been with the fiery hair and the loud mouth. However, the bubbly personality of the not very tall boy had helped to tear down the wall Tsukishima had built around his heart after his brother had disappointed him. Also, Yamaguchi had once told him that he too was grateful to Hinata for helping Tsukishima to become at least a bit more social and a bit less scary. Yamaguchi had giggled when Tsukishima had looked at him with sharp eyes and said: "You know, I've known you for a while and I know that you aren't a bad guy, so I'm happy that other people realize that, despite the sharp tongue, you actually care about things."

Tsukishima was not sure if that was a good thing, but there was no helping it as he had actually become a bit less hard on other people. He was just happy to be with Hinata.

Tsukishima sighed as he looked at the book in front of him. He was sitting in the university's library doing research for a report he had to hand in in a month and it was not looking good. He had not found the information he was supposed to find and it annoyed him to no end. He was mostly unable to find the sources he needed because some idiot had borrowed all the books he needed! So he tried to make do with the second rate sources he had, but it was not easy.

As he was flipping through the pages of one of the books he had taken to his seat, he noticed that the screen of his phone had lit up. He spared the device, that was laying at the edge of the table, one glance.

Incoming call: **日向** **翔陽** (Hinata Shouyou)

There was Hinata's big smile on his screen and Tsukishima's mood lightened up for a short moment before annoyance set in at the fact that Hinata had forgotten about their agreement to not call each other when Tsukishima was likely to be at school. So he ignored the call and concentrated on his task, but now a little less stressed.

It didn't take long for Hinata to give up on calling him and sending a message on line instead.

Shouyou: Tsukki :-* Mind going out for dinner tonight? Let's meet in front of the Lawson close to the station at 6!

Tsukishima frowned when picking up his phone. He typed a reply and put the phone down again, trying not to look at the screen but at his book while he made some notes in his notebook.

Shouyou: Why? Well… I like eating out with you? :D

The blond sighed and put his pen down. He should not have asked why Hinata suddenly wanted to eat outside because now he had to have a conversation with him, but somehow it had just felt right to ask for the reason – and Hinata's answer sounded suspicious.

Shouyou: Okay, maybe it's because Sugawara-san is in town and asked if we can meet up? Daichi-san is coming too!

He sighed again. Well, there was no helping it.

Shouyou: See you at the station at 6! Love you :3

* * *

Meeting his lover and his high school seniors for dinner was more relaxing than Tsukishima would have initially thought. He had guessed that it would be tedious to listen to the retelling of "nostalgic stories" from their shared high school experience, however he was saved by Sugawara-san, who seemed to not be all that keen on speaking of the past but was rather into knowing how the present was working out for them.

Their relationship was more or less public knowledge due to the fact that Yachi was not very good at keeping secrets and she had heard about them from Yamaguchi, who had told her because he in turn had felt like he wanted to tell someone and who else would he tell but his girlfriend? Yachi had then told Shimizu-san, with whom she frequently met up despite their difference in age and character. Shimizu-san in turn had then asked Yachi about Hinata and Tsukishima's relationship when Tanaka-san and Noya-san had been present one day and of course Tanaka-san could not keep such information to himself…

Of course Tsukishima had given Yamaguchi the death stare when he had found out that the news had spread like wild fire but there had been little that could have been done after everyone already knew about them. The blond could only say that he was somehow relieved that they had not met with any negative backlash from their immediate social circle. They had all congratulated them and treated them the same as always.

"So, you will finish your beautician school soon, right, Hinata?" Daichi-san asked sometime during their dinner.

"Yes", confirmed Hinata and nodded more than necessary to make his point. "I'm in my last year now as my vocational school is only a two year course."

"Any idea where you will be working after graduation?" Sugawara-san asked with a friendly smile.

The orange haired man grinned from one ear to the other. "Yeah, actually I do! Please let me send you my business card as soon as I get them!"

The senpais laughed. That was very much a thing that only Hinata would say, they agreed. "And you, Tsukishima, how long will you still be at university? A year?" Daichi-san inquired.

Tsukishima nodded. "A year until I get my bachelor's degree and then another two for my master's."

"Oh, so you've already decided to do master's?" Daichi-san seemed a little bit surprised. Or maybe he was just faking it, because to be honest, from all the people in the volleyball team of Karasuno Tsukishima had been the one most likely to go for more than just the bachelor's degree.

"Yes. It is not unwise to continue on studying even if I'm only doing management."

He didn't change; Sugawara thought and a quiet giggle left his mouth. For all that Tsukishima had changed, he still didn't take anything with passion – except for maybe Hinata, who knew how Tsukishima was in bed… The thought disturbed Sugawara a bit and so he shook his head and changed the topic: "Did you know that Kuroo-san has come up to Sendai to work in a bar?"

"What?" Hinata's eyes sparkled. "No! Kenma didn't tell me."

Tsukishima shook his head but didn't add anything to his boyfriend's comment.

"Well, how about we go to his place then after this?" Daichi-san suggested. "He sent me the address a while back, so I suppose it's okay to go and visit." He showed them the address on his phone. To Tsukishima and Hinata's surprise it turned out that the bar Kuroo-san was working at was not all that far from where they had their apartment; only twenty minutes walking distance. So they readily agreed to go there afterwards.

It was hardly eight o'clock when they walked through the door of the small but not unstylish bar in which Kuroo-san stood behind the counter. He was wearing a dark crimson button down shirt and a vest with a cream-white front part and a dark grey back to dark grey trousers. His hair was still in the same "fresh out of bed"-style but looked a bit better kept or maybe it was the dim light of the place that let the onlooker believe that the bartender was using hair products to make that hairstyle and not just get out of bed without combing.

Kuroo-san smiled at the four men when they entered through the black painted door. "Welcome" he said in his charmingly low voice. "Take a seat at the counter, if you please!" He pointed to four of the seats at the bar. There were ten seats there and four tables in the rest of the room. The bar was rather small if one looked closely, but the dim light and the position of the tables as well as the size of the chairs made it look larger.

"Kuroo!" Daichi-san greeted the former captain of Nekoma's volleyball team and sat down with a smile. The other's greeted the black haired man as well, who returned all the greetings with a smile and the question if they were well.

Tsukishima was the last to take a seat and also the last to place his order, feeling a bit out of place as he was wearing simple jeans and a t-shirt in a place where the other costumers where less casually dressed. Kuroo-san's slightly sleazy lazy smile added to his discomfort. It was a smile that Tsukishima felt attracted to, although that was a fact he would never admit to. He had Hinata and other people did not need to be so ridiculously sexy if he had a cute boyfriend, who was oblivious to any attempt of Kuroo-san's to flirt with him. Because that was what it was, Tsukishima decided halfway through the evening, Kuroo-san was flirting with his precious orange haired boyfriend by giving him that disturbingly sexy smile and complimenting him every now and then in his attractively low voice.

Tsukishima did not easily get jealous, but it did bother him to see Hinata's eyes sparkle while he talked to Kuroo-san about volleyball and Kenma and things Tsukishima had no idea about because he was not interested in them. However, the blond did not say anything to Hinata that evening after they came home as Hinata was still on cloud nine from meeting people he had not seen in ages.

Shutting his mouth was probably the best idea Tsukishima had had that evening, because little did he know who Kuroo-san had actually been flirting with.


	2. Chapter 2

Hinata was very proud to call Tsukishima Kei his boyfriend. He knew that the tall blond was a good catch, not only because he was physically attractive but also because he was intelligent, so he did not mind when other people admired his Tsukki. It actually turned him on a bit when he noticed that someone was checking the gorgeous blond out. When someone else was looking at his Tsukki, he too could look at his lover from another person's perspective, which heightened his pleasure to look at him with his own eyes, knowing that he was his and his alone. So he did not mind Kuroo-san stealing glances at Tsukki, especially as Tsukki seemed to not notice.

"The bar Kuroo-san is working at was quite nice" Hinata said the next morning during breakfast. It was Saturday and already ten o'clock as they had slept in on their day off.

Tsukki shrugged. "Yeah, it wasn't bad."

"Let's go there again. It's quite convenient, if you ask me."

"Sure."

"Okay, so are you free next Saturday?"

Tsukki creased his fore head. "You want to go there again so soon?"

"Yeah, why not?" Hinata tilted his head in question.

"If you insist." The blond sighed. "Don't waste too much on drinks."

"Aw, come one, we have to have some fun sometimes. Or did you not enjoy your time at the bar?"

Again, Tsukki shrugged. "Kuroo-san is a good bartender, very skilled in conversation and such, but it wasn't in any way greater than other places we've been to."

"Well, then it's settled, we'll go next week." Hinata smiled and gave Tsukki a kiss.

* * *

The week dragged on and Tsukishima was very glad when the weekend finally came around. He wasn't exactly looking forward to meeting Kuroo-san again, but if it made Hinata happy, he did not mind going anywhere. He had even gone to Disneyland with him for his birthday because the small orange haired man had been begging him to come with him for about a year. And going to a bar was definitely less embarrassing than wearing mouse-ears for a whole day…

Tsukishima had a shift at his part time job that Saturday morning and then he headed to the library after that to write his report before returning home shortly around seven to have dinner with Hinata, who had spent the day at school preparing for a contest of sorts.

"You look exhausted" Tsukishima remarked during dinner. "Are you sure you want to go out drinking, rather than spending the evening at home relaxing?"

"Oh come on, we seldom go out!" Hinata protested, smiling from ear to ear to show Tsukishima that he was not as exhausted as he might have looked. "I'm fine! And I can sleep in tomorrow, so no problem. I'll go to school in the afternoon for the preparation though, but we got a lot done today, so tomorrow half a day should suffice."

"Okay, but don't drink too much." Tsukishima warned him. "You know that you're not the type to work well when hung over."

"Nobody's the type to do that…" The orange haired man pouted.

Tsukishima smiled one of his very few genuine smiles. "I work decently enough, thank you very much."

Hinata kissed him. They did the dishes and got ready to leave for the bar at around nine o'clock.

* * *

"What do you think?", Hinata asked when they lay in their bed that night after they came home from the bar. "Why did Kuroo-san come up here?"

Tsukishima wanted to shrug but was too lazy. It would anyway have been uncomfortable, as his shoulder was being used as a pillow by Hinata. So he murmured: "Isn't it like Kuroo-san said? At his age becoming a bartender and manager at once isn't possible in a place like Tokyo where there are so many people available."

"Don't you think that was some sort of lie?"

"Why would I care?" Tsukishima kissed Hinata's forehead. "It's none of my business why he came here for work and didn't stay in Tokyo." He caressed Hinata's cheek. "Yes, it's nice to have a familiar face in a bar, so going for a drink isn't that awkward, but it could be Sugawara-san or Oikawa-san for all that I care." His hand wandered from Hinata's cheek to his hair and then to the back of his head, so that he could turn Hinata's head into a position where he could reach the smaller man's lips to plant a passionate kiss on them.

The orange haired man giggled. "So you would go to a bar where Oikawa-san is standing behind the counter?" He asked in between kisses.

"No." Tsukishima grinned and rolled on top of Hinata. "And now let's drop the topic of other men, I'd much rather think about you, who is right here in front of me." He helped Hinata take off his pyjama shirt and the pants, while kissing his cheeks, neck, collarbone and torso, slowly making his way down to his penis.

Hinata enjoyed it when Tsukki went down on him. He liked the warm and wet sensation of the inside of Tsukkis mouth and god was the blond skilled with his tongue… Or had become skilled over the years. He had been a bit clumsy when they had started going out – but Hinata had been the same. It had been their first relationship, their first time having sex after all… It was in no way surprising that they had acquired some skills over time.

Hinata moaned in pleasure when Tsukki touched and licked him in all the right places, making him feel very relaxed. The next morning he felt quite refreshed despite not having slept all that much that night.

Tsukishima was careful to touch all the good spots of his boyfriend. He wanted to serve him selflessly for once, knowing that Hinata needed some relief from the stress that had accumulated due to the upcoming competition. Tsukishima himself had almost finished his report and had kept on top of his studies, so he did not feel much pressure or stress which was why he did not place much importance on the satisfaction his own sexual desires. However, Hinata did not let him be the selfless lover as he made him stop giving him head midway by begging him to enter him and pound him so hard that he would forget everything.

The blond did not say no to such a request, however, he did try to not do it too hard, knowing that Hinata had to get out of bed the next day.

* * *

Hinata's contest took place on Thursday that week and it was open to the public, so Tsukishima ditched classes for once and went to his boyfriend's school to support him, knowing that it would mean the world to him if he came to watch.

It was a little awkward to be sitting next to Hinata's mother, who had been the only one from the family who had had the time to come and watch as well, but as he had met the woman before it was not that hard to make friendly conversation.

Hinata took the second place in the contest that day and they went to have food with his mother and Natsu that evening as a form of celebration.

"So, what would you like as a present?" Tsukishima whispered into the orange haired man's ear when they walked from Hinata's mother's car towards the restaurant.

Hinata blushed a bit from the way Tsukishima's voice had sounded sexy and shook his head. "Nothing, really. It's okay. Second place isn't worth a present."

"Don't be so modest" the blond whispered even lower to make Hinata blush more. "I'll give you something that's less than thousand yen, if you insist on it not being too big."

"How about five hundred?"

He chuckled. "Okay, five hundred. So, what shall it be?"

Hinata thought about it for a moment and then said: "That Spanish tapas thing at Kuroo-san's bar."

"Is that your new favourite place?" Tsukishima raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe?" Hinata grinned.

Tsukishima did not say anything any more. Maybe it was better, because he himself had not disliked the second time they had gone there that much. Kuroo-san had flirted less with Hinata, seemingly understanding that he was off limits and their drinks weren't half bad.

* * *

They went to Kuroo-san's bar on Sunday right after it opened at seven thirty in the evening and Tsukishima paid for several plates of tapas for Hinata, despite the orange haired man's insistence that he was only supposed to pay for one plate and the rest should be split.

Kuroo-san chuckled when he heard the argument of the two lovers with Tsukishima telling Hinata that he was a fool for wanting to pay for his own food. Hinata puffed his cheeks and retorted that he did not like it when Tsukki was spending too much money on him. They both had a tight budget, so his boyfriend should spend his money for things he needed rather than pampering him.

"That is failed logic", Kuroo-san said and smiled at the smaller man. "Tsukki here probably gets something from having you happy, so he is investing his money wisely by buying things for you – even if it is only food."

"It's not 'only' food!" Hinata protested. "This is uber-delicious!"

"Well, thank you very much for the compliment." Kuroo-san grinned. "Do you like it too Tsukki?"

"Yes, it is delicious." The blond might have sounded a bit mechanical in his answer, but he did not like praising the black haired bartender when he looked at him with his crooked grin with sly humour sparkling in his eyes.

"Oh my, Tsukki! Are you in a bad mood?" Kuroo-san hit him on the shoulder in a friendly manner. "Come on, try and smile while saying that it's delicious – like Hinata here did!"

Tsukishima did not do what the bartender wanted from him. They left the bar soon after that, having had enough to eat and drink. They had to get up early the next morning, so it was in no way advisable to get wasted.

* * *

Tsukishima wondered why he had gotten out of the bus a station too early and was looking at the door of the bar in which Kuroo-san worked. It was only four in the afternoon on a weekday, the place was nowhere near open and he had no intention of having a drink, but still he was there and stared at the door unsure of what he was supposed to do.

It had not even been a week since the last time he had been there. Somehow, they had ended up going there almost every week since Daichi-san had taken them there for the first time, which had been almost three months back.

Tsukishima shook his head and started walking past the building in the direction of his home. He thought about how Hinata's attitude towards the place had started to change recently. Maybe it was because his graduation examinations where coming up and he was more stressed than before or maybe it was because he did not exactly like the type of person Kuroo-san was. Hinata did get along with him fairly well, but he was better suited to hang out with people like Kenma rather than Kuroo-san. Tsukishima on the other hand had started to get used to being around Kuroo-san again. He did not mind him and he also did not mind the occasional glance that Kuroo-san stole at him. The tall black haired man wasn't bad to look at either, so as long as he kept it discreet and innocent everything was fine.

Upon entering the flat, Tsukishima noticed that Hinata wasn't back yet, which was weird as it was Thursday, that had been the only day recently when the orange haired man would have been home early despite his stressful life. As a compensation for going to school for preparations on Sundays he usually took off Thursday afternoon as Tsukishima too came home early that day.

He put his bag in the living room before going to the kitchen to see what was left in the fridge so that he could decide on what to make for dinner. As he was earlier than Hinata it was only fair that he should make dinner. There were some vegetable's left and some milk as well as minced meat. Hamburger steak with white sauce, Tsukishima thought and checked if there was enough rice left. Suddenly his phone started to vibrate in his back pocket. He took it out and slid over the screen to unlock. "Moshi, moshi?"

"Moshi, moshi? Tsukki?" He heard Hinata's voice.

"Hinata. Where are you?"

"Sorry, I had to go home to my family. My grandpa was involved in a small accident" Tsukishima inhaled sharply, "don't freak out!", Hinata almost shouted into the phone, "It wasn't anything major", his voice was back to a normal volume, "but he has to stay at the hospital and Mom went to our hometown to look after him, so she needed someone to take care of Natsu while she's away, so I went home."

"Okay." Tsukishima frowned. "When will you come back?"

"Probably next week."

"Will you be okay?" Tsukishima sounded concerned.

"Yeah, sure. No problem at all here. Natsu's a good teenager, way better than I was, but you know that."

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant. I know that you're stressed, so I just want you to not take on too much, okay?"

"You're sweet." Hinata made the sound like he would kiss him. "I'll be okay. I'll text you when I know when I'll come back." He hung up.

Tsukishima sighed. No hamburger steak then, he didn't like making big meals if it was just him. So he decided on making a simple don-buri with fried minced meat, some vegetables and an egg on top. He made so much that the next day he did not need to cook anything for dinner but could just heat it up and eat it in front of the TV. It had been a while since he had been alone in the apartment. It felt sort of lonely, especially the second day around…

He ate his food and switched through the channels. After having proven to himself that there was nothing, really nothing, that he was even remotely interested in watching, he got up, washed the dishes and dressed to go out. It could not hurt to go to Kuroo-san's, at least he would have someone to entertain him there. Half way to the bar he thought of how uncharacteristic that was of him. Had he not liked being alone for a long time? When had it changed, he wondered. When had he started to feel like he needed someone to be around him? Was it Hinata that he missed? It had to be…

The bar was full except for one last seat at the counter. Tsukishima sat down and ordered a light drink to start with. A young part timer was serving him as Kuroo-san was currently engaged in a heated conversation with some other regulars at one of the tables. However, it did not take long for the black haired man to notice that Tsukishima had entered the bar – alone and so he came back to his usual working place.

"Tsukki!" he said enthusiastically. "So, you're alone today?" His voice was low and pleasing like velvet.

"Hinata has to watch Natsu." Tsukishima shrugged.

"Oh well." Kuroo-san sighed. "So, how was your week?"

"Not bad. I suppose yours was okay as well?" They chatted for a while, though their conversation was interrupted every now and then because Kuroo-san had to tend to other customers. However, Tsukishima did not miss the way Kuroo-san looked at him, he did not miss how he smiled at him and raised his eyebrow when saying things that could have a hidden meaning and Tsukishima did not miss how he himself relaxed in the situation. It did also not escape his notice that he himself smiled at the guy once and how he did not shy away from a few dirty and compromising topics. He was happy that Hinata would not learn about this. However, Tsukishima did feel that it would be prudent to inform Hinata, when he met him next, that he had exchanged numbers with Kuroo-san that evening.


	3. Chapter 3

Kuroo: So, how's Hinata doing? ;)

Tsukishima: Stressed. Finals are drawing close.

Kuroo: Wish him good luck from me! :3 How are your finals coming along?

Tsukishima: Not bad. I've studied enough to feel like I'll be able to pass.

Kuroo: (laugh) Well, I suppose that's just like you. :3

Kuroo: I mean, you did seem like the diligent type. Are you gonna come to the bar anytime soon? It's lonely without you. ;_;

Tsukishima: Sorry, I'm busy.

Kuroo: Sure, do your best. :-*

Tsukishima swiped the message away. He liked texting Kuroo-san, but his excessive use of emoticons was annoying… Hinata had started to dislike the black haired man's bar and they didn't go there as often any-more, so Tsukishima assumed that it had to do with Kuroo-san's habit of flirting with him. Not that Hinata would have said anything, but he glared a lot when they were in the bar and his mood turned sour for a moment whenever he saw that Tsukishima had a message from Kuroo-san on his phone.

Maybe it would be better if the orange haired man would voice his displeasure, but maybe he was just too wrapped up in his graduation project and preparation for his finals to bring up the energy to discuss relationship problems. There was a problem, Tsukishima knew, though he did conveniently ignore it. Hinata had not shown him his love in a while, he had not brought home any treats since about a month and he actually only came home to sleep recently. Not that the blond was much better, he stayed at the library for extended periods of time as well and he ate out most of the time, knowing that there was no-one home to eat with him anyway, but it still stung.

Their sex life wasn't all that satisfying either. The last time they had done something, Tsukishima had rubbed Hinata one off in the bathroom while the orange haired man had gone down on him. It had been a very short moment of pleasure as both men had been rather exhausted from daily life, hence they usually fell asleep as soon as they lay down on the soft mattress on the double bed and did not stay up for some action.

"You seem frustrated." Kuroo-san touched the blond's cheek ever so lightly but it felt really intimate. "Are you sure you're doing fine?" There was honest concern in his eyes.

"Yeah. Finals will be over next week." Tsukishima nodded, registering from the corner of his eye that Hinata was not happy about the bodily contact between him and the bartender. "But Hinata here is all done now, that's why we came to celebrate." He tried to smile at his frowning boyfriend. It did help, the orange haired man's mood was lightened, or maybe it lightened thanks to the food and alcohol they ordered and got as a present, because Kuroo-san let them have one round of drinks as well as a small tapas plate on the house.

Kuroo: Is Hinata really all right? He looked worn out… :(

Tsuki: He just hasn't slept well as of late.

Kuroo: (gasp) You too, I suppose?

Tsuki: Well… Who needs sleep if they can stay up studying?

Kuroo: Don't overdo it! :-* You have huge bags under your lovely eyes. ;_; It ruins your pretty face.

"Is it Kuroo again?" Hinata sounded disapproving. He was sitting on the sofa watching TV while Tsukishima was sitting on the floor, his laptop on his knees, mostly working on the last parts of the last report he had to hand in.

"Yeah" he replied absent-mindedly and changed the font of the report because some of the characters weren't displayed in a way that was easy to read.

Hinata inhaled loudly. Tsukishima was about to ask what the matter was when the orange haired man wrapped his legs around Tsukishima's torso and his arms around his neck. "You know…" he began in a low voice, "I know I was the one making us go to that bar in the beginning… But…" He had begun caressing Tsukishima's chest. "I… I don't like you going there any-more." His voice was very small and it took Tsukishima a lot of resolve to not snicker.

It seemed so ridiculous, Hinata being jealous. But it was good that the orange haired man was aware that his request was a weird one.

So Tsukishima asked in a cool voice: "So you are going to forbid me from going there?"

Hinata's hands stopped. "Hm… Well…" He pulled Tsukishima closer. "I would not say I forbid it, but I'm asking you not to go there anymore…" His voice was only slightly above a whisper.

"Are you that insecure?" Tsukishima finally turned his head to face Hinata. He looked straight into wide, brown eyes. "Am I not trustworthy?"

"So you know that he flirts with you?" Hinata's eyes narrowed.

"He is not always the most subtle, I admit."

Hinata snorted. "And you encourage it, then!"

Tsukishima raised an eyebrow. "Do I?"

"Tsukki, it hurts!" Hinata abruptly stood up. "Seeing you engage in a not-so-innocent conversation with someone who clearly wants to get into your pants in front of me hurts. I want you to stop." Tsukishima could clearly read the hurt in Hinata's eyes. "Please?" the plea was added weakly, tears glistened in the brown eyes.

The blond sighed. "Okay." He put his laptop on the floor and stood up to take his boyfriend into his arms, to reassure him of his affection. "I'm sorry" he said lowly and kissed him on the cheek. "I won't go there any-more if you mind it that much."

"Thank you." Hinata smiled weakly. "You can still keep in touch with him through the phone so…"

Now Tsukishima could not help but snicker. "Oh, I'm allowed to do that?" This one, probably innocent comment of Hinata let his mood make 180°, he bowed down to get his laptop and left the room for the study. "Thank you for being so generous – maybe you should start going through my text messages just to make sure that I'm not cheating", he growled when he passed Hinata who just stood there unsure how to react.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Tsukishima heard him cry when he had long left the room. Hinata's voice cracked. There was the sound of tissue paper and a nose that was blown.

Maybe he had gone too far this time.

* * *

With the exams over and his new working place secure, Hinata gradually gained his bubbly personality back. He had three weeks of vacation between his graduation from the beautician school and his first day at work, so he spent a lot of time at home cooking for his boyfriend and outdoors meeting up with people he had not had the chance to meet due to the stress of the previous month.

One such person he went to meet was Kenma. Not that he saw him very frequently, because the fake blond still lived in Tokyo, but they did occasionally see each other. This time, Hinata bought a ticket for the shinkansen to go to Tokyo for a day trip. It was a bit expensive, but Hinata had not splurged on anything lately, so he thought that this was a good reward for passing his finals.

Hinata had gotten up early that morning to catch the 8:24 shinkansen Yamabiko number 126 from Sendai station heading to Tokyo station. As he sat in the reserved seat area, car 8, row 6, seat E and looked out of the window, he wondered how Tsukki's day would be like. He too had finished his exams and was now mostly working part time. It did not seem as if he liked the place he worked at much, but who could think of Tsukki enjoying working at a yakiniku restaurant?

Hinata giggled at the thought of how Tsukki probably had huge problems in keeping his mouth shut and not making snide remarks when the customers were being indecisive. He would probably be best suited to work in one of those 'tsundere cafes' Hinata had read about just recently. Apparently, people paid money for the maids in a maid cafe to be mean to them. Hinata was sure that there were 'tsundere butler café's as well, so there would be some place for Tsukki to work – though he would probably have a problem with acting clingy towards customers when they were about to leave.

The orange haired man shook his head to think of something else. He would soon start working in a proper job and it somehow scared him. What scared him most was that his way of life would change. His perspective on things would change because he would finally be a working member of society and not a student any-more, which meant that he would probably soon not understand Tsukki's problems any-more. What if his new life would take him even further away from his boyfriend?

He had started to notice that he didn't understand him as well as he used to understand him a while ago. He had thought that separating Tsukki from Kuroo-san and the bar would make them get closer again, but maybe it had been a bad idea to meddle?

"You know, I just thought that… I would feel more secure if he stopped seeing Kuroo-san", he confessed to Kenma later that day when they were walking through the streets of Tokyo. "I do think that Tsukki would never cheat on me. He has a good heart, so he would not go behind my back… But seeing how someone flirted with him over an extended period of time… I could not help but worry."

Kenma nodded. "But you know, Kuroo has always been that kind of person", he said in his usual lethargic tone.

"The type to flirt with other people's partners?" Hinata creased his forehead.

Kenma nodded again. "He likes flirting. So he will flirt with anyone he likes." He shrugged as he added: "I'm not sure if you noticed, he flirted with Tsukishima back in high school as well."

"Oh… So he has a crush on him for real?" This shocked the orange haired man a bit. He had just thought that Kuroo-san indulged in a nasty past time during his job.

"Maybe."

Hinata cringed. "Well… At least he will not meet with Tsukki any more. Then nothing can happen."

"Didn't you say that they still text each other?"

"Yeah, but not as frequently as before and I mean… I think I do have a friend or two I send some slightly flirty texts as well… So I can hardly ask of Tsukki to cut all ties with Kuroo-san. He already accused me of being too controlling, so I should keep myself in check." He put his hands in his jacket pockets and looked up into the small band of sky between the tall buildings surrounding them. "Maybe Tsukki was right to point out to me that I should not ask him to cease contact with someone he obviously gets along with just because I am insecure. But what else could I do? I had to tell him that I was unhappy. Bottling up everything is not a good solution. It just hurts more."

Kuroo: You're really not coming to the bar any-more? ;_; Even when Chibi's not around?

Tsukishima: I gave him my word that I would not, so stop bothering me about it.

Kuroo: But you looked like you liked the place.

Tsukishima: I prefer drinking at home.

Kuroo: Oh, if that's so, then come to my place some time.

Tsukishima: Not happening, you know that Kuroo-san.

Kuroo: But Tsukki! You can bring Chibi-chan too.

Tsukishima: He will not go. By the way, he's meeting Kenma today.

Kuroo: So you're home alone?

Tsukishima: Only until 10.

Kenma sighed. They were sitting in a café now, Hinata had a tall Cherry Blossom Cream Latte and scone on the table in front of him while the fake blond had bought a short Caramel Macchiato. "Have you ever talked to Tsukishima about Kuroo as profoundly as you have to me?" he asked as he dipped the small wooden stick he had grabbed at the counter into the white foam on top of his beverage.

Hinata shook his head. "We haven't really had time to talk much lately." Kenma raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. "Well, you know, we were so busy… I will talk to him about it. I know I have to, but I'd rather not have this conversation because I think it rubs him the wrong way when I show jealousy…"

"Can't be helped" Kenma murmured.

"Yes, I think so too. Who would not be jealous if their lover is flirting with someone else while knowing that the partner knows about the flirting." He moped. "I'm certain that Tsukki is aware of my disapproval of his action." He took a huge sip from his Cherry Blossom Cream Latte.

It was shortly after ten o'clock when Hinata came home that day. Tsukki was sitting on the sofa watching TV, greeting him with a smile when he stepped into the room. "Had a good day?" he asked in a friendly tone.

Hinata nodded and sat down next to his boyfriend. He buried his face in Tsukki's chest and hugged him tightly.

"Well, well. What happened to you?" The blond asked amused and stroked that fluffy orange head. He planted a kiss on the hair crown as he turned the TV off and asked in a low voice: "Shall we go to bed?"

Hinata nodded and let his tall and muscular boyfriend carry him princess style to the bedroom.

They did not speak much that evening but instead caressed each other's body. First they helped each other take off their clothes. Then they touched each other's skin lightly, almost shyly, as if they were asking for permission to touch every time before their hands made contact with the other person's body. And then, after a while, they planted kisses in all places they could think of.

Moans filled the dark room. The sound of sucking could be heard as they had twisted and turned until they were in the position number soixante-neuf. Tasting their partner while feeling how they were tasted by the other, made both of them forget about their current difficulties.

Hinata had not felt this close to his lover in a long time, both physically and mentally. During exam season their sex life was usually almost non-existent. However, they had not taken up their usual interval of sex every couple days after the exams had been finished. They had just slept next to each other in the large bed, sometimes not even touching. This gentle, slow sex with a lot of body contact seemed to make them grow closer again.

Tsukishima was the first to come that night. Before he did, he took his mouth from Hinata's penis and growled a low "Sorry" before he began to moan and his hips thrust into his orange haired lover's mouth. While he came, he held onto the genitals right in front of him, trying to stroke them, because he was not in any way able to continue sucking them. After he had come, he panted and continued to fondle Hinata's butt and balls.

Hinata had swallowed the whole load but grabbed a tissue from the night stand to spit out what ever had not gone down his throat. He did not speak as he turned around and left the limp Tsukishima to rest for a moment. The orange haired man got up and opened the drawer of the other nightstand to take out a condom and some lube.

He placed himself between the taller man's legs, which the very satisfied blond man had spread so his lover could take a seat there and start preparing the anus for penetration. That was how they usually did it, the one who came first while they were doing foreplay was the one to be penetrated first, which made sense considering that the refractory period was half an hour so there was no way the one who came first would be able to penetrate the other in that time and even when they were taking it slow, it would have been to long for them to wait to continue their session, if they were in the mood to penetrate.

So Hinata wrapped the condom over his penis and put lube on it and the entrance of Tsukishima's hole. He stared down on the small, pink entrance while he probed it with his fingers before he aligned his member with it and pushed past the muscles inside Tsukishima. He moaned from the pleasure of the warm, tight hole. He moaned while he moved and Tsukishima deliberately tightened around him to make him feel better. He moaned when his lover squeezed his ass, when he drew him close and playfully bit him in the shoulder. It all felt so good, so right.

Why had they not done this in so long, he wondered after he came the first time that night. He lay on his back, panting and trying to recover while Tsukishima helped put away the used condom and started to prepare their second round by replacing the normal lube with a massage lube.

It was well past midnight when they finally went to sleep while spooning – with Hinata being the big spoon.

Kuroo: Is he still jealous?

Tsukishima: I don't think so.

Kuroo: Told you it would work ;)

Tsukishima snickered quietly.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi muntchkins & tortoises

Sorry, for uploading this late, but I had a lot to do lately - those who read my other story "Perfect Match", know that I recently spend a lot of time in an aeroplane, so I was kind of buys recently. And as a side note, my beta hasn't send me the next chapters back yet, so maybe it'll take a while from now until the next update. Please forgive me and my beta.

Jia ne

* * *

It had been one month since Hinata had started his job and he seemed to like it. Tsukishima thought he must because he came home bubblier than ever every day and told him about this and that thing that had happened during his working hours. The blond was glad to see his boyfriend so happy. It was definitely better than before, however, he still put on a sullen expression whenever he noticed that Tsukishima was texting Kuroo-san.

Tsukishima was still on vacation as the spring term had not yet started and he spent most of his time at his part time job or he stayed home preparing for his third year. He also met up with Yamaguchi a couple of times during his vacation. Before one of those occasions he joked to Hinata: "You will certainly not object to me meeting my most trusted friend, right?" The orange haired man had looked hurt but said nothing. Tsukishima was sure that he had gone too far with that comment and felt bad for the rest of the day, wondering how he could make amends.

"Maybe you should apologize?" Yamaguchi suggested, not exactly knowing what had happened between the two lovers but he was certain that it must have been due to something Tsukishima had done. He had learned to read the tall blond middle blocker and knew that he acted differently when he was angry with himself for doing something and when he was angry with somebody else for something they had done. "You could bring him a present."

"Shut up, Yamaguchi", he growled and glowered at his childhood friend. "You don't know what happened – a simple apology might not cut it…"

"Not if you don't mean it." The freckled man was used to being told to shut up.

"Why would I even bother apologizing if I didn't mean it?" retorted Tsukishima angrily. "You don't know what happened, Yamaguchi." He clicked his tongue.

"Honestly." Yamaguchi sighed. "If you don't want to tell me then don't."

"I would tell you if I could be sure that you don't tell Yachi who will then tell god knows who!"

Well, Yamaguchi had not thought he would improve his friend's humour with that little comment, but he had also not thought that he would get such a reaction. "Well… I could try and not tell Hitoka?"

Tsukishima snorted. "Yeah, right." They got up from the table they had been sitting in, at the crêperie, where both of them had had crêpe with strawberries and whipped cream. "Let's just say", he said when they exited the shop "that I said something I shouldn't have out of spite for Hinata's behaviour concerning a certain someone."

Now even Yamaguchi's face became a bit darker. Of course, he had heard about Hinata forbidding Tsukki from entering Kuroo-san's shop. He also knew that the restriction had to do with Hinata being sort of jealous because Tsukki was apparently flirting with Kuroo-san (or the other way around, but Yamaguchi did not trust Tsukki's judgement of the situation completely). So what could Tsukki possibly have said that hurt Hinata? That he would go and see Kuroo-san again? Yamaguchi was at a loss. If that was true then Tsukki was indeed in deep shit.

"Oh, just when we were speaking of the devil" Tsukki suddenly murmured and Yamaguchi looked up, recognizing Kuroo-san's unruly mop of hair on the other side of the street. Yamaguchi looked from the guy on the other side of the street to his friend and back again. Tsukki's facial expression had not really changed; only a faint softness had entered his eyes. He was about to turn and walk away when the black haired man had spotted them and began waving at them – so they had to stop in their tracks and wait for him to cross over to their side.

"Oh my! It has been a while!" Kuroo-san was speaking in a kind of singsong tone. "Yamaguchi, was it? It's been ages!" He smiled at the freckled man. "And Tsukki! It feels like ages even though it really hasn't been that long." He winked at him. "What are the two of you up to?"

"We just had some crêpe there", Yamaguchi pointed to the shop at the end of the street. "They are really good, you should go there once as well."

"How nice!" Kuroo-san was smiling widely at Yamaguchi. However, when he started his next sentence, he turned to Tsukishima, who had been as silent as a rock, and dropped his friendly smile in favour of a more suggestive one. "Why have you never gone with me to such a place?"

The blond's facial expression changed from impassive to glowering. He was not sure if he should say something. He had told Kuroo-san why he did not come to the shop anymore. He had explained to him in great detail that meeting him outside of the shop was not a good idea because he was sure that Hinata had meant to ask him to not meet the black haired former Nekoma captain at _all_ and not just not in the setting of the bar. So meeting him here on the street with Yamaguchi as a witness of his obvious flirting and misrepresentation of the situation could not be a good thing.

Oh yes, he would have loved to go a sweets shop with Kuroo-san! He could probably spend hours eating a piece of cake and staring at the handsome bartender, he was indeed a feast for the eyes. Tall and muscular in the right places as he was... But what was he thinking? He could also spend hours at home at the dining table savouring a piece of strawberry short cake and observing cute Hinata on the other side of the table. How he liked seeing Hinata eat something he liked, because then he smiled like a little kid and made nonsensical conversation. It was just too adorable! Maybe he should buy some cake on his next day off….

"We ought to go, now. Sorry." Yamaguchi's snappy remark pulled him from his thoughts.

So he had not needed to say anything, Tsukishima observed with relief. Yamaguchi said good-bye and Kuroo-san faked being really sorry to see them go while the blond only nodded as a parting gesture.

When they were out of earshot of the tall black haired guy, Yamaguchi suddenly stopped walking. Tsukishima looked down to him and registered an emotion on his friend's face he had not seen in a long time: anger.

"You said you did not meet with him because Hinata disapproves – did you lie to me?"

"No." Tsukishima replied dryly. "I did not lie and I have not met with him since Hinata complained."

"But he was implying that you had!"

Tsukishima inhaled deeply and adjusted his glasses before speaking as calmly as possible: "So what? I say I have not met him and that is the truth. So if you were kind enough not to mention Kuroo-san's nonsense to Hinata I would be very much obliged." He did not wait for Yamaguchi's reply before he started walking again. This was ridiculous.

"So you will not tell him that you ran into Kuroo-san?" Yamaguchi asked wide-eyed.

"Of course I will tell him. But I will only mention it in passing, certainly not in detail." He frowned. Was Yamaguchi always that stupid? "So if he asks you just say we exchanged greetings and went our way – which is exactly what happened."

He heard Yamaguchi gulp before he agreed.

Kuroo: I'm sorry about today. I didn't mean to put you on the spot.

Tsukishima: But you did.

Kuroo: I can't help it! I haven't seen you in so long…

Tsukishima: That is no excuse. If you continue like this, I will not even write to you anymore.

"So you met Kuroo-san today?" As expected, Hinata was anything but amused to hear this.

"We didn't meet, I saw him by accident" Tsukishima corrected, trying to speak in a calm tone of voice.

Hinata seemed not to buy it. "You said you wouldn't meet him anymore" he pouted.

"I did not meet him – ask Yamaguchi if you don't believe me." This was ridiculous and Tsukishima had a hard time not saying it out loud. He hated it that Hinata had become so jealous. Why could he not trust him?

"Now you are making me the bad guy." The orange haired man whined.

Tsukishima wanted to say 'indeed, you are the one making this more difficult than it has to be', be he refrained from it; instead he stood up and put his phone one the table. "Okay, I'm going out, taking a long walk and when I'm back we both will be calm enough to not point fingers at each other."

Hinata watched him leave in silence.

* * *

Author's note:

Okay, this was a lot shorter than the other chapters – sorry, but I felt like it should end here. Initially I had planed to make this a 5 chapter story, but talking with my beta I decided that I shall draw the drama out a bit and make the story longer than initially planned, I hope you will keep up.

Jia ne


	5. Chapter 5

There was no doubt about it, he had to apologize but Tsukishima did not know how – or rather where to begin with apologizing. He had been a horrible boyfriend for the last two weeks – he knew that, but it was exhausting for him too! Hinata had always been the type to encourage him to spend time with others, so to have that same Hinata question him every time he went out with someone hurt.

It hurt to see that his cute little orange-haired bundle of trust and sunshine turning dark and suspicious towards him. Tsukishima did admit that Hinata's insecurity and jealousy was not unfounded, but it hurt nonetheless to know that the one person he wanted to believe in himself did not have complete faith in him anymore. How could he convince Hinata that this was all just a huge misunderstanding?

He had done none of the things Hinata thought he had – or at least not all of them. Yes, he had liked it when Kuroo-san started flirting with him. And yes, he liked looking at the tall, gorgeous black-haired man… and _maybe_ he had imagined that same gorgeous black-haired man naked. However, that had been during his first year in high school after their first training camp with Nekoma. Since he had started dating Hinata he had not imagined other men naked. He had only watched porn, but that did not count, right? Watching porn was like seeing other men naked, not imagining them to be… Maybe he was going too far with his thoughts here. Well anyway, he had not met Kuroo-san since Hinata had asked him not to. He had also tried to make the older man change his tone of writing. However, he had not been successful…

Oh why did he like the attention he got from the other man?

* * *

Hinata was grateful that he loved his work. He was grateful that he had nice customers and friendly colleagues. The friendly atmosphere at work made him like going there and he had no problem staying after hours – which he had done a lot since his most recent fight with Tsukki.

The orange haired beautician did not exactly understand why and how they had gone down that spiral of mistrust and anger, but he knew that he did not like it. However, it was hard to figure out how to get out of this current situation. Maybe he didn't have enough resolve to actually talk to Tsukki about it, because every time he tried to talk about Kuroo-san to Tsukishima he seem to rub his blond lover the wrong way and they would both eventually get angry.

Hinata: I wish I could tell Tsukki that I'm bothered by him texting the black cat…

Kageyama: You're an idiot for not telling him.

Hinata: But he gets angry so quickly lately… Telling me that I cannot decide who he's friends with.

Kageyama: Why do I have to listen to this?

Hinata: Thanks for being a good friend, Kageyama. Grr!

Kageyama: I'm not qualified enough to give you advice. All the girls I've ever dated dumped me, accusing me of liking volleyball more than them.

Hinata giggled when he read that. Well, yes Kageyama had not changed all that much. But he was on the national volley ball team now, so of course he would still be neck deep into the sport.

Kageyama: Duh, they should have known that when they asked me out! But you know, your problem with Tsukishima is a lot more difficult…

Hinata sighed. Yes, Kageyama was right. It was difficult and none of his friends had been of any help so far. Well, there was not much he could do except for talk it out with Tsukki, really. But it was so bloody difficult!

Maybe they needed some time off of each other? He wondered while he cleaned the floor in the beauty parlour. Then they would be able to sort out their thoughts without pressure. But what if Tsukki would use the opportunity to meet with the stupid bartender?

Hinata would not be able to forgive that.

Like he was currently not able to forgive Tsukki for showing him that cold attitude.

Yes, maybe he was not lying about not having met the black cat, but the way he insisted that it was the truth seemed fishy and, frankly, annoying. Hinata sighed. He could not help but be worried. He wanted to believe Tsukki's word but it was just so bloody difficult. How could his boyfriend not understand that he, Hinata, was not blind? He saw, _knew_ that the blond was not repulsed by the crafty ex-captain of Nekoma High school's volleyball team. And it scared him. The way Tsukki looked at the bartender was different from the way he had ever looked at him, his boyfriend, and Hinata's heart ached every time he thought about that. He wanted this situation to change. He wanted to go back to how it used to be, the 'nice' days when they had been happy with each other. But how could he tell Tsukki without hurting him? Without accusing him of being the only one at fault in this situation?

Tears welled up in Hinata's eyes and he was relieved when one of his colleagues called out to him to ask him for help with some task, because that took his mind off of his relationship problems for a moment and it was only much later when he was sitting in the bus for home that he thought of Tsukki again.

Hinata dreaded the moment the voice from the loudspeaker would announce his stop, but there was no helping it. It would probably make things worse if he were to go back to his family's place for a couple of days, even if it was to clear out his head. Sighing he got off the bus, touching the card reader with his rechargeable contactless smart card Suica while passing by the bus driver. When he reached the building in which he shared an apartment with Tsukki, he stopped for a moment and looked up the façade of the four-story house. Half a year ago he had not believed that he was living with his lover and had been so happy to return to this place… but now?

His heart hurt. He wanted to look forward to seeing Tsukki. He wanted to smile when greeting him upon entering their home. He wanted to be happy and hug the tall blond university student with all his might. He wanted to giggle because Tsukki would complain about him being too much of a whirlwind for his age and he wanted to get a sweet kiss on his forehead or his cheek. Basically, he just wanted the world to be okay again.

Reality was harsh, he thought when he opened the door to the apartment and said his greeting, not shouting it as he used to. He said it in the same way Tsukki did, loud enough that it could be heard if someone was close by but not loud enough to draw him out of their office room if he was really busy. It was a ritual they did, so the other would not complain that they had not heard the other entering if they were close by.

There was no answer. Hinata shrugged, took off his shoes and walked to the living room to put his bag where he always kept it and then made his way to the kitchen, not meeting his boyfriend in either room. The orange haired beautician opened the fridge to see if there were any left-overs and was surprised to find a lot of new vegetables and fresh foods in there. He had thought that all that was left would be some plastic boxes, had there been any food at all. So Tsukki went grocery shopping, Hinata mused closing the fridge door again. He walked over to the study to find it empty and finally made his way to the bedroom, wondering where his lover had gone.

It was weird, the door had been unlocked, the shower was not running and there were no more rooms where Tsukki could be. Hinata frowned, looking around for a note but finding none. He also didn't have a message on his phone. Fear started to spread from his heart through his whole body. What had happened to Tsukki? Was he all right? Had he walked out on him, not being able to stand the situation anymore? Tears welled up in his eyes while he searched for his lover's number on his phone.

It was ringing. He heard the tone from Tsukki's phone coming from the living room. The black smartphone was lying on the side table next to the sofa. It was the only thing on the dark wooden table. The flowers and the vase, which had been on the table the week before had been removed because the flowers had withered and died. The vase was still empty since Hinata had not been able to decide on what kind of flowers he wanted to put on the table this time.

How had he not seen the lonely smartphone when he had been looking for a note from Tsukki?

Hinata sat down, wondering what he should do. He was so close to calling Yamaguchi when he suddenly saw some movement from the corner of his eyes. He turned his head and caught sight of Tsukki's leg on the balcony. The not so tall man jumped up from the sofa and strode to the balcony door. He took a deep breath before opening it. Looking down, he saw the taller blond sitting on the floor next to the folding chair. "What are you doing here?" Hinata asked concerned.

Tsukishima looked up at him with a sad smile. "Nothing."

"Well, obviously you are sitting, so you're not doing nothing" Hinata stated, hoping to lighten the mood a bit, but his lover only shrugged.

No matter what the beautician had thought and how much he had dreaded coming home, seeing his beloved Tsukki so obviously unhappy, he could not help but be concerned. It was simple really. He wanted Tsukki to be happy, because he wanted them to be happy and he, Hinata himself, could not be happy if his lover was unhappy. So he sat down next to him. He started to caress the short blond hair, hoping it would calm the other man a bit. They did not speak, neither did they looked at each other; they just sat there for a while.

* * *

University was stressful, more than it should have been and Tsukishima did not know why. He somehow could not keep up with his homework assignments as easily as usual. Maybe it was because his mood was bad no matter where he was, at school, at his part-time job, at home. It had been a long time since he had been in a good mood and knew that it was wearing Hinata out as well. Tsukishima suspected that his cute boyfriend did not like coming home anymore. He also had not seen his lover's sweet smile for a while now, nearly two weeks – not counting that one time he had seen Hinata smiling as he walked down town with Yachi. Tsukishima had not bothered saying "hello" to them because he had known that neither of them had seen him and he did not want to intrude and ruin the mood. But it had stung, knowing that his lover was only happy when he was not with him.

What had he done? Tsukishima wondered. He was supposed to apologize, but he still did not know how or even where to begin. He felt like he was running out of time, and sometimes he worried that they had already passed the point of when an apology was still meaningful.

He creased his forehead so often these days that a friend from university had told him he should be careful or he would get wrinkles. "Very thoughtful, thank you" he had replied sourly to the average sized girl and reached for his bag to take out his headphones so that he could study without being bothered.

But studying did not help to take his mind off of things. It did not restore his usual calm state of mind like it had done during high school. Neither did volley ball practice. He didn't go to practice as often as he had used to because it reminded him of Hinata more than ever.

Was this the end, he wondered one afternoon as he was on his way home. Was this really how it would end? Would they just drift apart, one unable to forgive a bit of frivolous behaviour and the other unable to apologize for it?

His heart sunk. There was a dull pain in his chest.

He saw orange hair flash by his inner eye and his mind drew up the picture of a small man dressed in colourful clothes, put on a jacket while dragging a large suitcase out of a door. There was a table and a note saying "I'm done, whatever I didn't take: keep it or throw it out – H.S.". He saw a man with freckles pulling a face at him and saw him shake his head. He suddenly heard his mother's nagging voice telling him that he either had start paying the rent of his apartment himself or move.

The world seemed to darken around him; on his cheeks he felt rain. Tsukishima was not sure what he had done the rest of the day. He didn't even register how he got home, he only came back to his senses when a gentle hand started to caress his hair and he felt the warmth of another person's body next to his.

It had been dark long before Tsukishima felt calm enough to get up from where he had been sitting. The hand had stopped caressing his hair a while back and the blond man noticed that the person who had such a calming effect on him had fallen asleep. His orange mop of hair had taken a resting place on Tsukishima's shoulder. He smiled.

This was happiness.

This had always been his happiness.

How had he ever been able to forget that?

Tsukishima tenderly lifted his boyfriend up, carried him to their bedroom and put him into bed, only taking off the tight jeans and rainbow-coloured socks the other was wearing. The blond himself undressed carefully, putting on his pyjama bottoms before sliding between the sheets and pulling Hinata into a tight embrace. He fell asleep thinking of the sun, thinking he could almost smell it.

* * *

Author's note:

Dear munchkin kittens and tortoises

I shall do some apologizing here: 1. I'm sorry for the short chapter, 2. I'm sorry for the delay in posting this.

My reasons for this are 1. it just seemed to fit, 2. I was very stressed recently and I got a new beta, many thanks to LilyPhantomhive01 for her great work! Hope you liked it.

Jia ne, until next month (schedule has changed due to my stress level, can't get any writing done lately)


	6. Chapter 6

**H** inata woke up because he felt hot. He hadn't felt that hot in a while and as soon as he opened his eyes, he realized why he was feeling so hot. Tsukki had not only fallen asleep hugging him, no he had wrapped himself around him during the night and Hinata was quite unable to move anything except for his head and when he moved that, he came face to face with his lover's slim smile.

Hinata's heart skipped a beat. Warmth was spreading through his already hot body and he started to relax. He had missed this feeling. He had missed the closeness he had experienced in the early stages of their relationship.

Maybe, he wondered, they could forget all that had happened and just go back to how things had been? Maybe, if he would just tell Tsukki to not use his phone while they were together, then everything could be fine? If, Hinata thought, he would just turn a blind eye then… He sighed. Maybe that was a stupid idea, but he wanted his boyfriend back. He wanted to be happy again. He was tired of fighting.

So he closed his eyes and indulged in the closeness of his partner a bit longer before the alarm clock went off.

* * *

 **I** t was two days later, June 21st, late in the afternoon that Tsukishima passed by a patisserie on his way home from his part time job. He and Hinata had both had shifts at work that day, but the blond was determined to make their evening a nice one at least. He had specifically changed his shift with one of his co-workers so that he could go home earlier than Hinata. This way he could get cake and make dinner. He also went to rent out the DVD of a film Hinata had wanted to watch for a while now at the nearest Tsutaya's. Everything should be as perfect it could be, Tsukishima thought, as he walked home with the small plastic bags in his hands. The gift he had bought for his boyfriend was neatly tucked away in the room they used as an office, though Tsukishima was not sure if he wanted to give it to him as he had bought it a couple of weeks ago when they had been on bad terms and he wondered if he had bought something that Hinata would not like. But maybe he was thinking too much.

Tsukishima put the cake in the fridge und took out the meat and the vegetables. He had planned to make a nice dinner with steamed pork buns as entrées, mixed salad, roast-beef-don as the main dish and cake for desert. As he had seasoned the meat in the morning, he proceeded to fry it in the frying pan before putting it into the oven for a bit more than twenty minutes, and then he started to wash the vegetables and salad. He cut the lettuce, grated a carrot and cucumber and opened a small can of sweet corn and distributed the ingredients evenly into two bowls. He also prepared the sauce separately and poured it into two shot glasses. Putting the two salad dishes and the sauces on a tray and carried them together with the cutlery, the plates for the main dish as well as small plates for meat buns – he knew that Hinata still enjoyed meat buns, so he bought premade ones that he only had to steam for a couple of minutes – and glasses to the living room. He set the table and returned to the kitchen to turn off the oven. He washed the rice, put it into the rice cooker and then proceeded to take the meat from the oven and cut it into thin slices, which he piled on a plate and put on the breakfast table to have it cool off a bit. The meat was of medium high quality as he had found it in the sale's section a couple of days back, which had been the reason why he had decided to make roast-beef-don with cabbage, tomatoes and pickled ginger. After he was finished with the meat, he cut the cabbage into thin strips and the tomatoes into eight even slices. He was done faster than he had thought, as Hinata was not yet home, but maybe that was just as well, as the meat was supposed to cool off some more before they could eat it. Tsukishima did not put it in the fridge to cool it, as he felt like the flavour of food that had been cooled down in the fridge was different compared to when food had cooled down on its own.

So he sat down at the breakfast table and took out his phone to check if Hinata had written to him.

Tsukishima: As promised, I've prepared dinner, so please don't go anywhere before coming home.

Shouyou: Thank you. I'll be done soon.

Tsukishima nodded in approval and was about to shut his phone off for the night - he thought it was a courtesy he owed his boyfriend on his special day –, when another line message came in.

Kuroo: Are you sick of Chibi yet? ;)

Impeccable morals were definitely not Kuroo-san's strong point, the blond thought and did not respond to the message. Maybe he himself was at fault too for being interested in such a corrupt person. But what could he do? The guy was tall, well-built… and charming when he wanted to be. Well, rather than charming the appropriate word would be seductive. Oh, Tsukishima had thought about him at one time or another back in high school, imagining what the slightly older man would do to him if he were be allowed to have his way… But that was not a thing he was supposed to think about on that particular day, so he shut his phone off and went to get one of his books to study. Exams were fast approaching and he had to use every minute he could to prepare.

It was half past seven before Hinata returned home. The roast beef had cooled down nicely and the rice was perfectly done. The orange haired man had only praise for the meal and Tsukishima was happy to see him indulge in the food.

They ate their meal at the table and had the cake while watching the film on the sofa, as Hinata had insisted that he wanted to have it during the film, partly because despite it being Saturday they both had to get up early the next morning and partly because he enjoyed eating while watching something on the TV. Tsukishima had only reluctantly agreed as he was always worried that they would drop food and spoil the sofa, but as it was his boyfriend's birthday he did not argue as much as he usually would. He went to get the cake and placed it on the coffee table together with the desert plates and small forks. He was about to get some tea or coffee when Hinata suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him down on the sofa.

"It's okay", he whispered before kissing him on the cheek. "Let's start the film."

While Tsukishima put the DVD in the reader, Hinata cut the cake and placed a piece on each plate. They sat down close to each other and Tsukishima navigated through the menu, starting the film without further delay.

It was shortly before eleven o'clock when they finished and Hinata went to take a shower while Tsukishima took care of the dishes. The orange haired man had wanted to help but Tsukishima had practically forced him to go to the bathroom, banning him from even thinking of entering the kitchen. The blond went to take a quick shower after Hinata was done and then they both went to bed.

"I missed this", Hinata said in a small voice when they were lying next to each other in bed, Hinata having his head on Tsukishima's chest.

"This?"

"Us being close." The smaller man explained and touched his boyfriend's stomach. "Us being happy together. Us smiling."

"I missed your smile as well", Tsukishima confessed.

A small giggle escaped Hinata. "Do you remember how you used to frown upon my constantly good mood?"

Tsukishima chuckled. "That was ages ago. I love your happy nature now."

"Thank you." Hinata turned his head up and kissed Tsukishima's chin, which was the closest part of the blonde's head he could reach. "Let's let bygone's be bygones."

"Do you really mean that?" Tsukishima sounded honestly surprised.

"If you can promise me to refrain from texting Kuroo while I'm close by."

Relief spread through his body and he suddenly felt very relaxed. "If that is all you want, I will happily oblige."

"Is there anything you want me to do?" Hinata had sat up so he could look into Tsukishima's face, which he could see clearly despite the room being so dark.

"Smile for me again."

"You're being cheesy." Hinata chuckled.

"I mean it. I haven't seen you smile in a long time, I miss it."

"I shall smile as much as I can then." He leaned down to kiss.

"Come here, I feel cold." Tsukishima pulled him back under the covers and wrapped his arms around him.

Usually Hinata would complain, it was almost summer and already very warm, the temperature had risen above 24°C that day but Tsukishima insisted that they would not yet use the AC, so having someone else wrap themselves around him was not very pleasant, but this time was special.

They had finally made up.

He closed his eyes, wishing Tsukki a good night and fell asleep smiling.

* * *

Author's note:

Somehow my characters feel rather ooc, please forgive me, but the flow of the story is just so good…

Kindly edited by my beta LilyPhantomhive01.

Jia ne


	7. Chapter 7

Dear munchkin kittens & tortoises

Sorry for the late update, at least I think I'm late. I had stuff to do is all I can say. I'll try to update the next one on time, thought I don't think I will get around to do so. Sorry. Please be patient.

Hope you like this chapter (though I'm not sure if this has gone through my beta or not, so sorry if the quality is lower than usually).

Jia ne

* * *

 **G** oing home was once again something Hinata looked forward to. He was relieved that he and Tsukki had somehow made up and life was going smoothly again. It was almost Obon now and the orange haired beautician was preparing to go to his family home and his grandparent's place for a couple of days. Tsukki too would return to his parent's place, so they would probably be separated for almost a week. The thought of being so far away from his boyfriend saddened Hinata more than usual because of the fact that they had been so angry with one another only up until about a month ago so that it seemed a shame that they would not see each other now that they were getting along just fine again.

However, there was no helping it, he had to go home. Natsu too was looking forward to having her brother home for a few days – possibly getting a fashionable but also easy to tend hair cut by him for free. It had been a while since he had seen his little sister and he was also happy to catch up with her. In contrast to Tsukki, he had always tried to maintain a good relationship with his sibling. He was actually a bit worried when he left the apartment that Tsukki would conviently forget that he too was supposed to go home because he did not really want to see his big brother.

Hinata had seen the brother's fight a lot over time. Well, fight was too big a term, it was mostly Akiteru trying to get closer to Tsukki and Tsukki shutting him off which resulted in the older Tsukishima getting frustrated and making more or less harsh comments while Tsukki retorted with equally sharp wit. Though the younger brother was usually more savage with his words and Hinata had had to cheer Akiteru up a couple of times after an especially harsh argument.

Shouyou: Don't forget to be nice to your brother while you're at home!

Tsukishima: I will avoid talking to him then.

Shouyou: What ever has he done to you that you can't forgive? Come on, make up with him. :-*

Tsukishima: I'd rather meet your grandparents.

Shouyou: I' say you're welcome to come with me if I didn't know that you Mom places great importance on _you_ meeting _your own_ grandparents.

Tsukishima: Thank you.

Shouyou: Have fun! I'll see you Sunday. :-*

It was late Saturday afternoon, August 9, so four days before the Obon festivities would start, when Hinata arrived back at his parent's place. As his mother's sister had come to visit together with her three children and the husband before going to visit Hinata's mother's other relatives, he was assigned a mattress in Natu's room instead of his usual bed, because the room he had used to sleep in had been turned into a storage and guest bedroom.

"It's been a while since we shared the same bedroom, huh", Hinata said when they had turned off the light in the small bedroom. The family had spent a very lively dinner and afterwards lit some small fireworks in the yard before everyone had taken turns taking a bath while the others were either sitting at the kitchen table or watching TV in the living room.

"We might have to share at Grandpa's place again" Natsu commented.

"Fine by me." Hinata smiled into the darkness. "As long as you don't suddenly start blabbering in your sleep and keep me awake."

"I don't do such things!" His sister protested and Hinata giggled.

"I know." He turned in the futon, not sure how he wanted to lay there as he was not used to have so much space to himself. "How are club activities? Mom told me you made you're aiming to become a starting member for your team."

"I'm quite confident that I'll make it this year." He could practically hear how she was smiling. He was proud of her, not because she too had picked up volleyball but because she gave it her all. She had the same spirit as him and if she was determined she did whatever it took to achieve the goal she had set herself, that made him proud. He would also have been proud if she had picked basketball or football or any other sport, as long as she enjoyed what she did he was happy for her. "Will you show me some tricks tomorrow?"

"Sure. But we have to be careful that Mom doesn't catch me jumping around."

"I'll keep it a secret, promise."

They said their good-night's and after changing his position on the mattress another two times Hinata finally fell asleep.

* * *

 **H** inata woke up to a very lively house. His cousins, all younger than him by a couple of years, had woken up a lot earlier than him. Natsu too had left her bed almost an hour before her big brother and it was only because the weather was rather mild for the season that she woke him to go to the park and practice some volleyball. Hinata got up, dressed and had a quick breakfast before he grabbed a ball and led the four teens to the closest park for some practice.

They only had about one hour to practice before the weather became to hot as the lunch hours were approaching and they fled back home into the air-conditioned living room of the Hinata household.

His cousins and aunt and uncle left right after lunch to go visit Hinata's mother's brother and his family which lived in another and the house quieted down a lot with only the four of them left. Hinata's father spend his time in the study, getting some work done, he said and the mother went to their neighbour for a chat, leaving Hinata and Natsu alone.

"Wanna go to the park again?" Natsu asked eagerly after their mother had left at around half past two.

Hinata, who was laying right under the A/C in the living room groaned. Had he too been so full of energy only a couple of years back? He did not really want to move in this heat, especially not because it was his long awaited holiday. But then again, where was the fun in not doing anything? "Okay… But let's take some money so we can buy some gari-gari-kun at the convenience store later."

"Sure! I'll pack some water, so we stay hydrated." Natsu smiled from ear to ear and ran off to the kitchen to get a basket in which they could put the water bottles and the volleyball.

Hinata forced himself to get up, went to his room to get a hat and some sunglasses as well as some sunscreen from the bathroom before dropping by the study to tell his father that they would go to the park and be back by dinner time.

Shouyou: Did you reach home yet? :-*

Tsukishima: Yes, unfortunately.

Shouyou: What happened?

Tsukishima: Nothing.

Shouyou: Sure…

Tsukishima: My mother has been nagging me for not coming home more often despite my university not being soooo far away.

Shouyou: :D You should go home more often.

Tsukishima: Don't want to. She'll only start nagging me about drowning myself in my studies and not having a girlfriend and how long am I planning on renting an apartment with another man… Maybe I should set things straight…

Shouyou: There's nothing straight about the situation, is there now? ;)

Shouyou: But if you want to tell them, I'll be by your side. I can also come over to support you.

Tsukishima: No it's okay, I still need their financial support, so I'd rather not tell them yet.

Shouyou: (laugh) Practical as always.

Tsukishima: I'm sorry, I know you want me to tell them. But… I'm not ready yet.

Shouyou: It's okay. I still love you.

"Who are you texting with? Your girlfriend?" Natsu's head popped out over Hinata's shoulder and she looked at the screen of his smartphone.

The orange haired man's face became red and he quickly hit the home button so that line was being closed, but he wasn't quick enough for Natsu not to read the last message he had send.

When he looked at her he saw that her head too was the colour of a tomato now. "How can you write such embarrassing things?" She shrieked, jumping over the sofa to sit next to him. "So, I suppose it's going well with him?"

Hinata nodded. "We patched things up…" He murmured slightly embarrassed. He had told Natsu about him and Tsukki a while back when she had wanted to stay over at his place but he had insisted that there was no space for her to stay. She was accepting of it and he was happy that she had not turned away from him. His mother too knew – or at least suspected something but had not said anything about it. His father had never shown any interest in his son's relationships so Hinata was quite convinced that he did not know anything about it, as did the extended family.

As for Tsukki's family… The blond had refused to tell them anything, though he occasionally brought Hinata home or made him come over to visit. Hinata wasn't sure but he thought that maybe Akiteru had picked up on their relationship, but he did not dare ask lest the older Tsukishima had not and he would end up spilling the beans to someone Tsukki did not want to be honest with.

"Speaking of which, he cooked for my birthday. Have I shown you the pictures?" Hinata opened the photo app and searched for the pictures from his birthday.

"Yes you have!" Natsu quickly said and jumped up. "Ugh! It's so gross how you're so madly in love." She shook her head.

"Madly in love?" Their mother had just entered the living room with a full laundry basket. "Shou-chan is? With whom?"

Hinata shot his sister an angry glance; she shrugged and made an apologetic face before she ran from the room, ignoring her older brother's pleas not to leave him alone to tidy up the mess she had caused.

"So?" His mother asked expectantly.

"Well… Em…" He smiled unsure what to say. "I… I thought you knew?"

His mother creased her forehead. "Knew what?"

"That I'm in a relationship."

"I would certainly remember if you had mentioned it before."

"Haha" Hinata laughed unsure what he was supposed to do now. "Well… You know… Remember how I was injured some years back?" His mother nodded with a slightly confused expression on her face. "I thought that you had understood then that… You know…"

She blinked. "Are you telling me…?"

"Probably, yes?" He smiled a fake smile and got up from the sofa. "Well, I am glad we had this talk." He attempted to leave the room but his bother grabbed his arm and held him back.

She looked at him with sharp eyes: "You and Tsukishima-kun?"

He gulped. God why did this have to happen? He nodded ever so slightly.

* * *

 **B** eing in his parent's home was exhausting. At least he had his own room where he could shut himself in after a certain hour had passed, but most of the time he had to stay in the living room with his brother and mother. Or he snuck out into the garden and practiced with a volleyball, like he had done in high school all those years back.

He knew Hinata would scold him for being so distanced with his family. He had thought of patching things up with his brother in high school and for a while it had seemed that he had conquered his disappointment about his brother having lied to him when he had been a mere child, but things had happened and he did not enjoy his brother's company all that much now.

One reason was that he found out that the older Tsukishima was not as open minded as other people. He had always thought that his brother was a bit idiotic because he was so gentle and tried to not hurt other people by sugar coating harsh realities, which was why he did not understand how his brother could be so narrow in his view on society. Tsukishima had not told Hinata of this discovery, as he knew that he would be disappointed.

The blond student sighed and glanced at the clock in the kitchen. It was hardly ten o'clock on Monday morning. His mother was out grocery shopping with his brother and his father had gone to work due to some emergency in the company, so he was all alone in the house. Why had he already arrived on Sunday, when they were not due to go to his grandparent's before Wednesday, he wondered putting his head on the table.

Kuroo: You went home for Obon?

Tsukishima: Yes. You?

Kuroo: I'll go Wednesday till Saturday. When will you go back to your apartment?

Tsukishima: What's it to you?

Kuroo: Don't be stingy! I was just wondering… You know…

Tsukishima: No, I don't.

Kuroo: Why are you like that?

Tsukishima: …

He pushed the lock button and got up from the table. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do, but staying in the kitchen was definitely not it, so he opened the door to the garden. There was a small wooden box next to the door with two volleyballs in side. He opened the box and picked up one of the balls and started tossing it against the house. He had not been to practice for a while, so it was a bit more difficult than he remembered it to be. But he practiced with the volleyball for about an hour before getting tired of doing that and went back inside to sit on the sofa and watch nonsense TV.

Kuroo: I was joking.

Kuroo: Can you not forgive me?

Kuroo: Why do you not reply? :(

Kuroo: You make me sad. Really sad.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes but did not reply. There was no reason to and he knew that if he would text Kuroo-san too often during this short vacation he would just give him the wrong impression.

He sighed and switched to the chat he shared with Hinata.

Tsukishima: Missed you today when practicing volleyball.

He knew he was not supposed to write that to Hinata, it might make him sad, but he felt like he had to text him something. When he did not get an immediate reply, he shut his phone and the TV off. Lying on the sofa he starred at the ceiling fan. What was he supposed to do now?

He sighed as he heard the key in the front door, got up from the sofa and ran up to his room to pretend that he was revising what he had learned last semester.

Shouyou: I'm missing you too. Wanna meet tomorrow? I'm taking Natsu to the Aeon Mall in Fujitani.

Tsukishima: Sounds great.

Shouyou: Pick you up at 2?

Tsukishima: I'll be ready.


End file.
